As he came through, an officer smelled an odor of marijuana. They did a consent search on the vehicle. No marijuana was found, but a handgun was found below the driver’s seat. It had an altered serial number. The gun was a black Luger 9 mm.

According to the police report, Crowell denied knowing the gun was there. He acknowledged it was his car, but said “other people drive the car,” according to the report.

“I asked, other people like those guys in there now, and he said no, other people,” the officer said in the report.

While Harrow was being searched, an officer asked Crowell: “Why are you so nervous?” The report goes on to state that “the officers provided supplemental reports about the behavior and demeanor that Crowell displayed while I searched the vehicle.” Those supplemental reports were not immediately available.

“Why are you so nervous?” Gee, officer, I can’t think of a reason in the world why I’d be nervous watching every person in the car being searched by armed police looking for drugs who’ve found a gun in my car. Not a one.

Not taking sides against my own school understand… but if we are going to start throwing stones maybe we ought to watch ourselves as the obvious comeback is….”Exactly how many BCS National championships has UGA won with Richt as Head Coach? How many has Auburn won?” I would gladly trade the 7-4 record with the War Tigers for that crystal football. Just sayin.’

Fans bitch and moan when we don’t push hard for the most elite players – and this is why. This is what you get sometimes. Not that you can’t have both elite and high character, but UGA’s m.o. has always been to go for the high character at the expense of super elite.

Thank goodness Keith Marshall is one of those elite talents who is also a hard worker and an honor student. He’s a kid we can all support with no reservations. I hate to read about his, but maybe a clean break is actually best for UGA.

one of the charges had to do with altered id, i think that has to do with the id of the gun which is why its such a serious charge, the serial number was probably filed which usually means stolen and almost definitely means it was obtained illegally

Well, I was sorta, kinda making reference to the unconfirmed idea that, in Tuscaloosa, this would probably be Nick’s problem to deal with…you know? This deal is about to freak me out, dude. A gun? A stolen gun?
There is some larger message here that is kinda scarey.

Ken Malcome is still on the team, right? I mean, I’m just as excited as the next guy to see what Marshall can do, but my first thought was that the stage is set for Malcome to the SEC’s biggest surprise this year.

I thought Malcome ran really well in the SEC Championship game and frankly always thought that Malcome was about as good as Crowell. Of course he was put in that game when the game was out of reach and perhaps the LSU starters were out, but still he ran well. This is Malcome’s big chance and he has got to understand that. With Malcome and Marshall this may still work out.

All I’ve heard this summer is how hard Marshall and Gurley both work. I don’t know if they have the raw skill set Crowell has, but they will be just as good. I’ll take a step down in “star rating” for a step up in work ethic and character.

Being a Columbus native as well, you just want to tell college recruiters to stay about Macon Rd. and you can find some good guys with character and hard work. Macon Rd. and on towards Ft. Benning is going to get you nowhere.

Uh, if a young African American is in possession of a gun with the serial number scratched off, I’m elated that the cops charged his ass with it because it’s a crime. The police aren’t the problem here, it’s the idiot football player who wants to play “thug”.

Not trying to speak for “Go Dawgs!” but I suspect he wrote “if a young African American…” because that is the exact phrase he was responding to. As in, if the cops just treated “a young African American” (with a weapon that has a serial number scratched off) that is a good thing. Not because he is a young African American, but because the psycho had a gun with the dang serial number scratched off.

Major, you can carry a weapon on campus if you have concealed weapons permit, as long as the gun remains locked in your car. I don’t think Crowell is old enough to get a CWP, so I guess in his case the point is “mute.” (yes, I mis spellled it on purpose.)

Thanks, Mike. I didn’t know that. Is that the new law that was passed by the Georgia General Assembly recently? I seem to remember a bruhaha over now taking guns to church and into restaurants. P.S. You misspelled “misspellled,” too.

this is causing me a great deal of concern because my gun is always in my car when I go to games and I have not submitted myself to the incredibly intrusive questions they ask in order to obtain a concealed carry permit, I’m I committing a felony just by driving on to campus with my gun in the glove compartment? … if so that is total BS. I actually researched this a few years back when I was dropping my kid off at school every day and there was an exception for just that purpose(i.e. just pulling through and dropping off your child/student) but is there that same exemption for going to an athletic event? I’m I legal driving down U.S 78 but instantly become a felon when I urn onto campus because that is what it sound like to me..

Now that I have heard more of the facts this sounds like a beatable charge. Driving someone else’s car, stopped, seached w/o probable cause and w/o a warrant, gun found that cannot be linked directly to him. As long as the kid didn’t say anything incriminating he may beat the rap. CMR–that’s another issue entirely.

Oh, and, c’est la vie. Can’t say I’m surprised that a 20-ish kid who has been adored and fawned over for much of his adolescence has not learned from past mistakes and continues to make horrible decisions that have far-reaching and life-altering consequences.

I can’t imagine Richt keeping him, but I hope he lands on his feet somewhere and gets his head straight and takes advantage of his enormous talent to make something of himself. But, let’s just say, I’m not holding my breath.

And what’s with all this 72 nonsense? You only need 66 for a two-deep plus practice squad. /sarcasm

The problem is with Richt. He’s too nice so some players feel they have to take it upon themselves to the be the team enforcers. It’s CMR’s holier than thou attitude that turns so many recruiting prospects away from the program that we end up being so under-signed. Plus, he’s 1 – 11 vs. teams that at some point are better than us in the polls. And Murray can’t win a big game, which is Bobo’s fault, and Richt should have fired him.

Richt has lost control of the program again, is an embarrassment to the program, and should go. We need someone like Pete Carroll, Urban Meyer, or Jim Tressel to come and clean-up the program and get things right and win 17 consecutive national championships. It’s our damn right.

Hopefully, this sordid episode will force Michael Adams to take action.

Considering what I have read/heard from some in our fan base, those comments were not out of the ordinary. But, nobody thinks Adams should do anything besides [physically impossible expletive]. That’s what gave you away.

Clearly CMR has lost control over the program. No one on Alabama’s team would do this for fear of Nck’s wrath. And of course at other schools for the first weapons charge there is no punishment. Only on the third violation would there be a suspension of missing one quarter of one game- vs Buffalo. I am sure the young man is just an avid hunter. I hear it is common for hunters to be out early in the morning getting the drop on their prey.

I must be missing something here. So far, the only information I’ve seen says he was arrested for having a “weapon”. I’m not predisposed to defend Crowell, but (for all I know) he had a butter knife under his seat. Does anyone have any evidence it was a gun? Or is that just an assumption?

I know I am opening my self up for a barrage of shots from all directions but I think this will be a huge positive for the Dawgs. Everyone is sad that IC is self-destructive and seems to be wasting what is reported to be “great talent” and that is a shame for any young athlete. I don’t feel that sad because he was given SEVERAL chances but ignored the opportunities. IC was a major disappointment last season (don’t tell me about Frosh All SEC) and disrupted the team all season long.

UGA has several talented ball carriers, each of which seem able to produce, something Crowell rarely did. I liked what I saw of Malcome when given his chance, I have alsways like RS4, and everything I hear of Marshall and Gurley make me think they will bring more net positives than IC ever did. Everyone can be down about this if they choose, but I will not miss the drama, the lack of team commitment he displayed, nor never being able to depend on him. I am only sorry we ever got hooked up with him, he has been an embarrassment to the university since he arrived on campus. I hope he grows up, and fast, because his current direction will make him one of life’s big losers.

Obviously I did not know the kid personally but i always think it’s tragic when a young person’s future takes a significant hit be it a star football player hurting his career for stupid choices or even a college student who’s discovered he’s racked up a too much debt for a worthless degree. We’re all accountable for our own choices but it doesn’t make it any less sad. I’ll also add for Crowell that for all the antics he displayed he had undisputed talent and he had also produced more than any of the other running backs currently on our roster. I’ll take that kind of talent even if it’s selfish talent any day. As a Terry professor once remaked “performance is a function of ability and motivation, you can get motivated, you can’t suddenly become more talented.” Hopefully Malcome and one or both of the freshman step up and they have the ability to make our RB corps really good but I do not agree that Crowell getting kicked off the team is a good development for Georgia.

I fully concur that it is tragic to see any young person jump the tracks, but I will not agree that talent trumps commitment. (I felt the same exact way about Da Rick before he switched to TN, and said so. He looked like a team cancer that we did not need. IC turned out to be one, but I knew nothing about him before he arrived.)

I can honestly say I never saw IC make a play for UGA that any good SEC running back would not have made….never. Not saying he didn’t have talent, or potential, and I will yield to the experts that he did have a gift. Maybe it was the blocking, but don’t great backs make plays others can’t? I just never saw anything that wowed me, and I really wanted to just to excuse the behavior and attitude issues a little. Perhaps he will go on and demonstrate that talent elsewhere, I hope he does. But I am willing to roll with what we have. He took more than he gave, imo.

And the Tenn game, as well. IC could move, and he was only a true FR. He was going to be a very good back if he matured and kept himself healthy.

This is not good for IC, and it’s not good for Ga. either. I don’t agree that he was a cancer on the team (I do agree we dodged a bullet with Da’rick, no pun intended). You’ve seen how IC’s teammates have been defending him this off season.

I don’t pretend to know more than the experts, nor did I dispute that Senator. I simply said I do not recall ONE play that made me feel we had something special in him. My primary memories of him was sitting by himself on the bench appearing uninterested, cheap shotting a player at a crucial time in the LSU game, getting suspended for a game where he was needed, fighting with other players before the championship game, and pulling himself off the ground and limping to the sideline several times.

I realize this is focusing on the negatives. I sincerely wanted him on this team for 2012, and wanted him to have a big year and make us all forget 2011’s problems. His current situation shows that he hasn’t changed and I am simply saying we will be better off without the rerun. While I wish it were different, I will not be one in the crowd bemoaning his loss, I will be cheering for the other RBs to grab the brass ring and support them.

It’s unfortunate that you couldn’t see the special in that guy’s quickness and balance. Where you actually watching? Could you see how much more agile he was than any back we’ve had since Knowshon–and how much faster is he than Knowshon, too?

I knew he was special after the USC game. I was skeptical how good a freshamn could be in the SEC but once I saw him pull off that first run where he ran out of the pile and picked up about 20 yards I knew he was much better than Washaun or Caleb ever were. A healthy Crowell to me was as good as Knowshon. And as far as talent vs commitment I believe in the saying: hard work ONLY beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. You cannot overcome a lack of or limited amount of ability simply by working hard. There’s a reason Michael Jordan was the greatest basketball player that ever lived and couldn’t make it out of Triple A baseball and it ain’t because he didn’t work as hard at baseball as he did basketball.

This is not good for UGA, bud. I’m not sure why you’d try to frame it as such.

1) This is terrible publicity for UGA. 2) We will once again be relying on true freshmen at RB. 3) Other schools will use this against UGA as negative recruiting — portraying us as a bunch of thugs out of control. 4) Wasted potential that we invested a year of coaching and a lot of recruiting hours on. 5) IC could have made a huge impact this season. 6) We are now WAY under the limit for scholarships, so our under-recruiting tear continues.

I could go on. With all due respect, your argument that this is good for UGA is very weak.

1.) It is bad publicity, I never implied THAT was good, but based on the past 12 months we are saving ourselves 3 more years of bad publicity so maybe that is a net gain as well although I never implied that.

2.) We have two experienced RBs and two, supposedly, talented RBs on campus.

3.) Other schools use everything against you but many players/parents like having discipline in a program. CMR is excellent about balancing discipline with letting young men grow up. Some just don’t respond with being giving a 2nd/3rd chance.
4.) All in the past, why waste more on a project that isn’t meeting you close to half way.

5.) IC could have had a better season last year too, and perhaps worked to become a part of the team. His recent actions indicate he still hadn’t gotten the message. Our team may well rally by having his selfish attitude out of the locker room. Teammates like people who have their backs.

6.) Having one less scholarship athlete for depth purposes isn’t going to matter that much, especially one that isn’t willing to lay it all out. RB is one position where we have some quality players; based on what I saw last year I am not sure IC would have held the starting job, but that is just my opinion….bud.

If it makes you feel better to sugarcoat that turd before you eat it, then I salute you.

Enjoying Crowell’s talents and getting him on the right track would have been a huge success for the program. In my opinion, losing Crowell is straight up bad news for this season. For a team hoping to be preseason top 10 and to contend for titles, we were going to rely heavily on Crowell’s talents.

For next season and in the long run, I’m not sure it matters very much.

I agree. If our running backs can’t be All American, then I have no use for them. And our coaches are idiots who routinely play the worst players as starters. At least this will free up a space for Hutson Mason. Anything to get him on the field.

Gun found under driver’s seat? Police charged only Crowell? What about the others in the car? Serious equal access issues. Unless Crowell admits that the gun was his. If not his gun, then have to question his choice of friends.

I see this happen all the time. Car stopped at a roadblock, cop smells pot, everyone out of the car, consent to search given, contraband found, no one knows anything about it, everyone gets charged. At some point, someone claims it, and the others may get cut loose.

No idea what really happened here, or whose gun it was, and it certainly sounds bad enough, but the lynch mob may want to hold up just a bit.

However you look at it, the kindest thing you can say is that being there shows IC is pretty stupid about the company he keeps; just riding around in a car at 3am with people smoking weed is stupid enough. If he was smoking, too, and/or it was his gun, well, sayonara. But we arent quite there yet.

back in the day, Judge James Barrow in Clarke Superior Court would send you to prison if you got convicted of jaywalking while you were picking your nose with a handgun. Guns make everything worse when you’re up to no good and get caught.

I’m with you 81. I haven’t seen or heard anything yet that convinces me that the gun was his or that he even knew it was there. I gotta admit something, too–I have ridden in a car at 2:00am when weed was being smoked, albeit in 1969 or so. I’m not quite ready to throw the kid away like some of you other guys. There but for the grace of God…….

Ahh, now I see. The stop was at a roadblock checkpoint. No reasonable suspicion needed for the stop, but roadblocks are fertile ground for motions to suppress based on cops’ frequent failure to comply with strict protocol. My prediction is that he will avoid a criminal conviction, but he’ll nonetheless be gone from the team.

Legally speaking, if he would NOT have consented to the search, wouldn’t they just bring K9 to the scene? If there was no pot in the car, but he knew he had a gun, why would he consent to the search? Would have been worth a shot if you’re straing down these kinds of charges, right?

The cop didn’t need consent or a k9. Officer detecting odor of weed provides probable cause for a warrantless search of a vehicle. The consent will work in Crowell’s favor as circumstantial evidence that he was unaware there was a gun there.

When did cops become experts at smelling weed? I’m no lawyer, but I would ask to see validation of any cop smelling every scent that differing mjs can give, depending on their dry state. Since none was found, he had no reason to search the car.

Barrister: “Sir will you tell the court the course and training for mj smell test that you have been instructed in, the qualifications of the course instructor, results of passing a written or recorded exam to achieve a level of expertise for smelling mj, validation of such test as achieving the level of expertise sought and the date you were qualified and validated by a validated instructor. After you tell the court, we would like to test your expertise so as to qualify your testimony you are about to give. This test may require a separate well- ventilated area that has numerous cars of differing makes , models and smells with one window open and five occupants in the car. You must id the person you suspect has smoked in order to narrow the warrantless search to that person. Need I remind you that it is not against the law to have a particular smell about you. You may be asked to differentiate tobacco smoke, wood smoke from a campfire, smoke from burning weeds in a cleanup of property, smoke from car exhausts(you were around other auto emissions during the road stop) or any other smoke that is in textile material in a car with 5 athletes.”

No, don’t get me wrong, you are absolutely right. I guess my statement came from being jaded, and I always find it fishy that we are never taught about our rights in school, at least I wasn’t. The only way to find out is the hard (and expensive) way.

Yes, he has a case if they find prints on the gun belonging to someone else known to drive the car, but none of his prints. In that case, his story will hold water and a good defense attorney could get him off. If he is exonerated, UGA would likely welcome him back.

Senator, please tell me you’re being sarcastic about the nervous comments. Come on man. That’s a legit question. I’d say the biggest problem here is that we had a running back with a gun in his car not a cop asking questions. Kind of silly you would say that.

As wrong not the cop.By saying “doing what cops do”, do you mean “their job?” The cops did nothing wrong. Your comment is jaded and you know it. That’s why you said it. Even if the cop were being a dick, crowell

hodgie–I prosecuted for 5 years before I finally said “F this.” We don’t know yet what really happened last night, but I saw more than enough cops who suddenly smell something to get around a warrantless search. In fact, it made my stomach hurt so bad I finally switched sides to try and help some people who’s naivety of the law were being taken advantage of. I’m not saying all cops are evil, but it only takes one to ruin an innocent person’s life.

Got the benefit of the doubt. I have been falsely accused. Not by cops, but fortunately my reputation is that of a rule follower and the false accusations went away. Wouldn’t you say we live in a society that gives the benefit of the doubt.

It’s not a smartassed comment. It’s a police interview technique. If you notice that your subject is nervous, you point it out to rattle their cage even more and hope that they crack under the pressure and give you the information you’re looking for.

Exactly, don’t carry a gun illegally and you don’t need to be nervous. Once again, follow the rules and your nervousness and worries tend to go away. I doubt they were on east campus waiting to plant a gun on somebody.

Unlike you, I’m not making a judgement on police behavior in this case. I have no idea and neither do you. If I had to bet, I’d bet that they acted appropriately b/c they almost always do. But almost always and always are not the same thing. Making statements like you definitely know what happened is asinine, so grow up and develop the ability to reason.

Athens PD. Need I say more? If this had happened in Tuscaloosa or KnoxVegas we wouldn’t even be having a conversation about it. Do you in your wildest imagination think that Trent Richardson would have be arrested in a situation like this in Tuscaloosa?

I don’t usually hold truck with such excuses, but my naive ass agrees with you here, Mayor. It’s just that it was a traffic stop. If Isaiah was that stupid and thought he could buffalo his way through, then he ought to be gone for low IQ. If not, then he didn’t know about the gun.

Amen. Searching and searching for a cop to crucify when someone had a weapon with a sanded down serial number takes away the credibility for the times when cops actually do bad things. That happens a good bit, and it needs to be addressed, but the teen angst that gives a knee jerk “COPS R PIGZ!!!!1” response makes people on the fence not buy into the worthy causes of police brutality.

I remember a couple of years after getting out of the Army way back in the early early 90’s, I was leaving a strip club with my girlfriend and girlfriend of hers and was stopped at a road block. It was well past midnight and I stopped drinking at 10 pm, because I knew I was going to be driving. Anyway, cop says, I smell Alcohol step out of the car please. I say sure, sir. “But I am not drunk, I just got out of the army a couple of years ago and I know when I am drunk.” Well, I take and the pass the sobriety test. Then the cop says, who the LT has the breathalyzer, you will need to wait on him to come back. So they place me in the back seat of the car and not once did I ever get nervous. I was not in any shape drunk or even tipsy, think I blew a .01 or something.

So nervousness should not be a problem with a young man if he knows he is in the right.

Well you should have been very nervous. You can still have alcohol in your stomach and belch, it gets into your esophagus or lungs or mouth and even if you are .01 the Intoxilyzer 5000 will show you at about .15.

Caleb King, Dontavious Jackson, Carlton Thomas, Washaun Ealey, Ken Malcome, Isaiah Crowell. Outside of Richard Samuel and the two new Frosh RBs (Marshall and Gurley) these are all the recruited RBs for UGA since 2007. And all of those listed in the first sentence have been suspended at least once and many of them arrested. Hmm, maybe UGA has a problem with the RB position.

None were found with marijuana. Good. They got smart and ate it, or it was from the joint they just left. Pun intended. That makes them all observant of team rules and if you had asked me what the toll would be when 5 players in a car were stopped and searched for mj, I would have flunked the question. So that’s good. Next, he may have no knowledge of the gun, but I hope his Mom doesn’t try to claim it because she would never be believed since she has hauled some rein in on Isaiah and wouldn’t have forgotten it there.

Isaiah and the occupants should be credited as not drinking nor possessing contraband, ALL OF THEM, after a traffic stop at 2:30 AM. If I was McGarity, I wouldn’t order any mj testing for two weeks. I mean that is a major accomplishment for any college kids to have on their side, much less football players. Further, unlike Wilder at FSU, they didn’t give the authorities any crap and reacted with good deportment, including giving permission for a car and personnal search.

He will get his chance in court and I would applaud loudly if all charges were lowered to a misdemeanor. Shit , at LSU he never would have had to make bail.

There is such a mindfield for CFB player behavior, that, if I were a player, I would seriously think about another profession. How can you ever go out and enjoy a social life when you are nervous at every step that something will happen, innocently or not, that could curtail your life’s dream on any night? I confess that I would fail. Do I have an answer? Yep. Leave them the fuck alone, turn a blind eye and don’t fuck up a kid’s social life by holding him to higher standards than other students while expecting him to play football in a grown man’s world. Also use minders since everything is set in place to ensnare these kids in our society. With enough minders you can have a chaperoned party, keep an eye out for the door, watch for turds trying to start shit with players and interface with the cops where necessary.

Bradley, you can stuff your “aurally apparent” justification and judgements. It wasn’t aurally apparent to me that you revel in the loss of good players from UGA until now. I hope we cover it all with the same sand that the rest of the SEC uses. In Bradley’s case it would be aurally sanitary kitty litter.

Sorry: And the minder searches the car before and after use, otherwise no kids can have cars. Then you can carry your beer down the sidewalk while walking back to the dorm and make another, less turbulent, mistake.

Ballsy, for once we are on the same page. There is a double standard at work here. Nobody drug tests the student body, many of whom are on scholarship, too (i.e. Hope or other academic). The Athens cops are into some sort of “make a name” thing by busting jocks, too. It has always been bad in Athens even when I was there 40+ years ago but now I think it is much worse.

I can’t help wondering what Josh Harvey-Clemons’ grandfather is thinking right now. As most of you will recall, he didn’t want his grandson to go to UGA and had his fifteen minutes of fame when he refused to sign the LOI. We were led to believe JHC was a good church-going boy with a good head on his shoulders and a good family to support him. Lo and behold, JHC got to Athens, and he decided to hang out in clubs with Crowell and Cootie at 2:00 AM. As a side note, you may also recall that JHC’s grandfather is a bail bondsman. That snarky comment just writes itself, doesn’t it?

If the weapon was a vintage German Luger and was defaced then the weapon was stolen. Lugers in good condition are too valuable for throwdowns so no cop in his right mind would alter the serial number. An unattached Luger would wind up in a shadow box on the wall. If one of those kids bought the weapon on the street they knew it was hot. I prefer the 1911 model Colt myself but Lugers look cool. If IC’s prints are on that pistol he is in deep shit!

Folks, it’s time to stop believing what you see in TV shows and movies. A cop isn’t going to plant a gun, it’s just not going to happen. Has it happened? Sure. Has it happened in the last five years? Sure. And those people got caught. We’re talking about something so unbelievably rare in the modern age that you’ve got a better chance of getting hit by lightning than you do having a gun planted on you. I must have missed the part where Crowell had a sterling reputation for being an upstanding citizen and teammate. Why would anyone even THINK a cop planted the gun? This isn’t a dark deserted street in Athens. This is AT AT ROAD CHECK. There are countless cars passing back and forth, there are a TON of cops around at least one of whom had to be honest. Someone would have seen something. Isaiah Crowell is lying through his teeth. That gun is most assuredly his.

And, by the way, I have worked in law enforcement in a non-sworn capacity. I can tell you that ACCPD is one of the most respected law enforcement agencies in the state. They are one of only around 100 agencies to be state certified. They don’t do sloppy work. All the shit that Georgia fans hammer ACCPD for? That’s all being “too strict” and going solely by the book. I assure you that the book doesn’t have a page that tells how to drop a gun.

IC claimed he didn’t know the gun was in the car, right? Call him a liar? Maybe. But if I knew I had an illegal gun in my car, I wouldn’t consent to a search. Just sayin. How about fingerprinting the weapon. If he’s got no prints on there he’s in the clear right? Right?

You’d be shocked how many times a person consents to a search knowing that there’s contraband in the car. Officers ask them later, why’d you let me search? Because they’re afraid of looking guilty and having the search go down anyway, which is ridiculous. People don’t know what to say when cops ask the question. Instead they just hope that the officer doesn’t find what he’s looking for.

Besides, the officer smelled weed and IC has been known to partake… perhaps he wasn’t in his right mind?

Again, let’s look at this objectively for a second. Is his reputation that of a law-abiding stand-up guy?

I guess it is time for the UGAAD to create a mandatory course for freshmen, “Criminal Law 101, what to do when the cops stop you. Do not consent to a search even if you know you are innocent. make the civil servants work for their pay. Wake the judge up in the middle of the night for a warrant. Hell my uncle was a Judge in Fulton County and he left signed fill in the blank warrants in his mail box at night for the cops to use so they would not wake him up. IC is toast but he will land on his feet at some other D_I school and given the SEC track record he will be starting for LSU, Auburn, Arkansas or UT in two years. Mark Richt is a good guy but a lousy judge of character. If the last 5 years have not proven that nothing will. These guys just didn’t become thugs or in Zack M’s case a sob toward women, they had to have a history. We should send questionnaires to their classmates in high school to see how the regular students perceive them, not just the coaches and their family. This is just become so damn typical of UGA for the last 5 years it’s damn embarrassing. I’m an alum so I’ll always support the school but this is just unexplainable, how do we get so many guys with so little sense. I know at least they didn’t rob any one or kill any one but still it’s stupid. Vent over Go Dawgs.

You run the best UGA site – I check in multiple times a day and get a lot of good info. You and the posters are funny and well informed. I also know the old line about arguing with folks on the Internet, but here goes anyway…
The constant cop bashing here sucks. Ive been a police for 18 years now and spent a couple years on the job in Athens. I personally put handcuffs on a very well known Bulldog back in the day, and watched as the whole arrest (for something much worse than PUI or Underage Possession) get swept under the rug. I also witnessed (first-hand) a lot of bad behavior on the part of our athletes. I’m a UGA grad and a huge football fan. Here’s a couple of observations for whatever they are worth…
– There’s no grand conspiracy on the part of Athens police departments to arrest student athletes. The days of giving people breaks because of who they are are long gone. Our jobs are not worth it and most cops feel the same way. Cops simply wont look the other way because the person they stopped is the best RB on the team – they’ll be knee deep in alligators if they do
– You don’t need to post links to websites that document all the bad stuff cops do to make your point. I wish cops weren’t human and never messed up but they do. I don’t condone that behavior and think we (cops) should be held to a higher standard. F*** a cop if he does something illegal or immoral. They get whatever they deserve. With power comes responsibility…
– responsibility is a two way street. IC was not a 3 year old child incapable of making good decisions. He put himself in the situation and he can bear the consequences. Blaming the Athens police and saying they should act like hypothetical (sp?) cops in Knoxville or Tuscaloosa do is just stupid.
– Prosticution, I’m sure you can cite hundreds or thousands of cases where officers ” were easily to blame” and this crisis of conscience caused you to quit prosecuting and turn into a defense attorney. Ive known a lot of attorneys and think its more likely that you’re in it for the money or simply don’t like cops. Either way is ok but your holier than though attitude is typical from a defense attorney. Sorry to paint with a broad brush but there it is…
Didn’t mean to come off like a jerk – ill go back to “lurk” mode now…

bc, thanks for the blog praise. I also appreciate the thoughtful response from your side of the badge.

For the record, I believe most police are both competent and professional people. And I agree with you that what happens in Athens isn’t the result of some sinister conspiracy.

Where I have a problem with what you say is this: “F*** a cop if he does something illegal or immoral. They get whatever they deserve. With power comes responsibility…” The reality is that doesn’t happen nearly enough to keep things in check. Combine that with how the War on Drugs has led to a thirty year erosion of our constitutional rights and that’s why I feel the way I do.

That’s not to say I don’t appreciate the job you and most of your brethren do. And I hope you’ll step out of lurk mode more often here. It never hurts to hear the other point of view.

Thanks for the thoughtful response Senator. Ive arrested a few police officers in my career. Didn’t want to…” felt I owed it to them” ( thank you Judge Snails). They got what they deserved and I have no remorse about the outcome. I also know what a bad cop is capable of. However the arrest problems with our team are not due to a Training Day scenario- they are due to poor choices.
And I’m with you. The “drug war” is a failure. Legalize it and bring on Hamsterdam.
oh and keep up the good work Senator…

Quote Of The Day

“But outside of that, the biggest advantage you can have is have good leadership, have a veteran football team, and when you’ve got that, it doesn’t matter whether you have spring practice or not. When you don’t have that, it’s tougher, when you don’t have leadership and you don’t have the experience at certain positions.”— Kirby Smart, Dawgs247, 3/31/20